How to Install Jira Agile Project Management Tool on Ubuntu 20.04

This tutorial exists for these OS versions

Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish)
Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa)

JIRA is a project management tool developed by Atlassian which is used as an issue and bug-tracking system. It is a commercial tool and available as a Trial version for a limited time. You can use JIRA in Support and Customer Services to create tickets and track the status of the created tickets. It comes with a simple and user-friendly dashboard that helps you to track work progress and issues. It offers a rich set of features including, Bugs and defect management, Advanced reporting, Search and filtering, Customizable workflows, Customizable dashboards, Advanced security and administration and many more.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install JIRA project management tool on Ubuntu 20.04 server.

Prerequisites

A server running Ubuntu 20.04 with minimum 4GB of RAM.
A valid domain name pointed with your server IP.
A root password is configured on the server.

Getting Started

First, it is recommended to update your system with the latest version. You can update them using the following command:

apt-get update -y

Once all the packages are updated, install other required packages with the following command:

apt-get install unzip fontconfig -y

Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.

Install and Configure MariaDB Database

JIRA uses MySQL/MariaDB to store their data. So you will need to install the MariaDB server in your server. You can install it with the following command:

apt-get install mariadb-server -y

Once the installation has been finished, log in to the MariaDB shell with the following command:

mysql

Once login, create a database and user for JIRA with the following command:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE jiradb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_bin;
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'jirauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Next, grant all the privileges to the jiradb with the following command:

MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL ON jiradb.* TO 'jirauser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Next, flush the privileges and exit from the MariaDB shell with the following command:

MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES; MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Next, edit the MariaDB default configuration file and tweak some settings for better performance.

nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf

Add the following lines inside [mysqld]:

default-storage-engine= INNODB
character_set_server = utf8mb4
innodb_default_row_format = DYNAMIC
innodb_large_prefix = ON
innodb_file_format = Barracuda
innodb_log_file_size = 2G
sql_mode = NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO

Save and close the file when you are finished. Then, restart the MariaDB service to apply the changes:

systemctl restart mariadb.service

Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.

Install JIRA

First, you will need to download the latest version of JIRA from their official website. You can download it with the wget command as shown below:

wget https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/downloads/binary/atlassian-jira-software-8.7.1-x64.bin

Once the download is completed, change the permission of the downloaded file with the following command:

chmod a+x atlassian-jira-software-8.11.0-x64.bin

Next, install the JIRA software by running the downloaded binary as shown below:

./atlassian-jira-software-8.11.0-x64.bin

You should see the following output:

This will install Jira Software 8.11.0 on your computer.
OK [o, Enter], Cancel [c]

Press Enter to continue. You should see the following output:

Click Next to continue, or Cancel to exit Setup.

Choose the appropriate installation or upgrade option.
Please choose one of the following:
Express Install (use default settings) [1], Custom Install (recommended for advanced users) [2, Enter], Upgrade an existing Jira installation [3]
2

Type 2 and hit Enter for custom install. You should see the following output:

Select the folder where you would like Jira Software to be installed.
Where should Jira Software be installed?
[/opt/atlassian/jira]

Select the Jira installation path and hit Enter. You should see the following output:

Default location for Jira Software data
[/var/atlassian/application-data/jira]

Now, press Enter to continue. You should see the following output:

Configure which ports Jira Software will use.
Jira requires two TCP ports that are not being used by any other
applications on this machine. The HTTP port is where you will access Jira
through your browser. The Control port is used to startup and shutdown Jira.
Use default ports (HTTP: 8080, Control: 8005) - Recommended [1, Enter], Set custom value for HTTP and Control ports [2]
1

Type 1 and hit Enter to use default HTTP port. You should see the following output:

Jira can be run in the background.
You may choose to run Jira as a service, which means it will start
automatically whenever the computer restarts.
Install Jira as Service?
Yes [y, Enter], No [n]
y

Type y and hit Enter to install Jira as a Service. You should see the following output:

Details on where Jira Software will be installed and the settings that will be used.
Installation Directory: /opt/atlassian/jira 
Home Directory: /var/atlassian/application-data/jira 
HTTP Port: 8080 
RMI Port: 8005 
Install as service: Yes 
Install [i, Enter], Exit [e]
i

Type i and hit Enter to start the installation. You should see the following output:

Please wait a few moments while Jira Software is configured.

Installation of Jira Software 8.11.0 is complete
Start Jira Software 8.11.0 now?
Yes [y, Enter], No [n]
y

Type y and hit Enter to start Jira software. Once the installation has been finished successfully, you should see the following output:

Please wait a few moments while Jira Software starts up.
Launching Jira Software ...

Installation of Jira Software 8.11.0 is complete
Your installation of Jira Software 8.11.0 is now ready and can be accessed
via your browser.
Jira Software 8.11.0 can be accessed at http://localhost:8080
Finishing installation ...

At this point, Jira is installed in your server. You can now proceed to the next step.

Configure JIRA

Next, you will need to download the MySQL JDBC driver and copy it to the Jira installation directory. First, download it with the following command:

wget https://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/Connector-J/mysql-connector-java-8.0.18.zip

Next, unzip the downloaded file with the following command:

unzip mysql-connector-java-8.0.18.zip

Next, copy the MySQL connector with the following command:

cp mysql-connector-java-8.0.18/mysql-connector-java-8.0.18.jar /opt/atlassian/jira/lib

Next, stop and start the Jira service to apply the changes:

/etc/init.d/jira stop
/etc/init.d/jira start

Configure Proxy for JIRA

Next, you will need to define a proxy in Jira. If you want to access Jira using your domain. You can define it by editing the file /opt/atlassian/jira/conf/server.xml:

nano /opt/atlassian/jira/conf/server.xml

Find the following lines:

<Connector port="8080" relaxedPathChars="[]|" relaxedQueryChars="[]|{}^\`"<>"
                   maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="25" connectionTimeout="20000" enableLookups="false"
                   maxHttpHeaderSize="8192" protocol="HTTP/1.1" useBodyEncodingForURI="true" redirectPort="8443"
                   acceptCount="100" disableUploadTimeout="true" bindOnInit="false"/>

Replace them with the following lines:

<Connector port="8080" relaxedPathChars="[]|" relaxedQueryChars="[]|{}^\`"<>"
                   maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="25" connectionTimeout="20000" enableLookups="false"
                   maxHttpHeaderSize="8192" protocol="HTTP/1.1" useBodyEncodingForURI="true" redirectPort="8443"
                   acceptCount="100" disableUploadTimeout="true" bindOnInit="false" scheme="http"
                   proxyName="jira.example.com" proxyPort="80"/>

Now, run the following command to apply the new configuration.

/etc/init.d/jira stop
/etc/init.d/jira start

Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Jira

Next, you will need to configure the Nginx as a reverse proxy if you want to access Jira on port 80.

First, install the Nginx web server with the following command:

apt-get install nginx -y

Once the Nginx server is installed, create a new Nginx virtual host configuration file:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/jira.conf

Add the following lines:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name jira.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Server $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        client_max_body_size 10M;
    }
}

Save and close the file when you are finished. Then, activate the virtual host file with the following command:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/jira.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Next, check the Nginx for any syntax error with the following command:

nginx -t

You should see the following output:

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Finally, restart Jira and Nginx service to apply the changes:

/etc/init.d/jira stop
/etc/init.d/jira start
systemctl nginx restart

Access Jira Web UI

Now, open your web browser and access the Jira web interface using the URL http://jira.example.com. You will be redirected to the following screen:

Select "i'will set it up myself" and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Select "My Own Database", provide your database details and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Provide your application title, Mode, URL and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Provide your trial license key and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Provide your administrator account details and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Click on the Finish button to complete the installation. You should see the language selection screen:

Select your desired language and click on the Continue button. You should see the following screen:

Choose your avatar and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Click on "Create new project" to create your first project. You should see the following screen:

Select "Scrum software development" and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:

Click on the Select button to select your Workflow. You should see the following screen:

Provide your project name and key, then click on the Submit button. You should see the Jira dashboard in the following screen:

Conclusion

In the above guide, you learned how to install JIRA on Ubuntu 20.04. If you are not aware of how to install and use JIRA effectively then this guide will help you to install JIRA without any problem.

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